35 feet is max height at Beach

BRYAN NOONANStaff Writer

Published Tuesday, December 02, 2003

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH -- To the chagrin of two architects in the audience, the St. Augustine Beach City Commission declared Monday night that the skyline at the beach will not stand over 35 feet unless it gives special permission.

"We're vehemently opposed," said David Portwood of Charlan Brock Architects in Maitland, just outside of Orlando. After venting at the podium before the commission, he closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment as the commissioners debated.

"They're controlling it the wrong way," he said, adding that aesthetics should be the driving force for building requirements, not height.

The commission's vote ended a month-long dispute on whether to change the city's code on building height. The ordinance prohibited buildings taller than 35 feet but it allowed for exceptions for up to 43 feet for chimneys and elevators, for example.

The commission adopted the new ordinance 4 to 1, declaring no exemptions would be written into law. It keeps the height restriction at 35 feet.

Only City Commissioner Al Holmberg dissented, saying an exemption needed to be included in the ordinance for elevators to rise taller than 35 feet to accommodate handicap access in a multistory building.

Mayor Frank Charles said builders would still have the option to design elevators and chimneys, but they would have to be 35 feet or less unless the commission heard an argument otherwise. He invited builders to state their case before the commission for such necessities as an elevator to accommodate the disabled.

Portwood said the commission was making a mistake and would be "flooded" with requests.

St. Augustine architect Mike Stauffer said elevators and chimneys rising above 35 feet account for a small portion of a building. He told the commission spires or domes on churches would be undermined. Hypothetically speaking, he said if the design for a state-of-the-art theatre were brought to the beach, it could not prove hardship to give it full potential to rise skyward.

Portwood agreed saying, "Most of these buildings will be chopped off."

He added that the new community Sea Colony stands as a showpiece in Northeast Florida, and the restrictions on height will stunt its growth.

"This is going to devalue the properties," he said.

Commissioners then heard the first reading of an ordinance to restrict the height of homes and residential/commercial buildings in commercials zones at 27 feet. City Attorney Geoffrey Dobson said the ordinance was proposed to discourage homes being built in a commercial area.

"We're running out of commercial property," he said. "Then we have people building next to the airport and they complain about the airplanes."Stauffer again tried to sway the commission, saying homeowners will likely upgrade their homes to increase value. Businesses cut corners, he said, and making buildings look less aesthetically pleasing saves money.

But the commission decided instead to schedule the 27-foot height ordinance for its second reading at next month's meeting.